A COMET OVER LA PALMA (MINI-ANTHOLOGY)
By Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
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On September 27 - October 4, 2024, the Romanian Society for Meteors and Astronomy (SARM) organized an expedition (led by Valentin Grigore) to La Palma (the island that hosts most of the European Northern Observatory's telescopes). The expeditioners were welcomed by the leader of the EURONEAR project, Dr. Ovidiu Vaduvescu, and Valentin Grigore's astrophotographs inspired the following collective work:
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COMET C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) OVER LA PALMA
-A mini-anthology of astro-photo-poetry-
By Andrei Dorian Gheorghe (concept, astro-haiku, astropoem), Valentin Grigore (text and astrophotographs), Alex Vizitiu (astro-haiku ) and Delia Motoc (conclusion)
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We were once again above the clouds all night, on the island of La Palma, as part of SARM’s “Canary 2024” expedition to see Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) and, over the Ocean Atlantic, the Teide volcano.
A comet gem in a wonderful place.
(Valentin Grigore)
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This is a dragon
that has returned after
many millennia
(Andrei Dorian Gheorghe)
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Lightning of ice
Passing in the dim sky -
The light of times
(Alex Vizitiu)
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Once, when a great comet
was passing through
the constellation Leo,
a Tibetan Mastiff dog
was passing through
a park (with his mistress).
-Mother - shouted a scared little girl -,
look a lion!
- Oh, my dear - explained her mother -
that's just a dog that
looks like a small lion.
-Then why does he have
such a big mane? -
asked the little girl.
-Maybe - her mother answered –
he was inspired by
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS!
(Andrei Dorian Gheorghe)
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Light in the distance -
The night sky rocking
A world of ice
(Alex Vizitiu)
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This comet is not
a dragon, it just has
a fascinating tail!
(Andrei Dorian Gheorghe)
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Two jewels of the sky seen from a jewel of the Atlantic Ocean:
the Moon, the comet and the Island of La Palma -
in the Caldera de Taburiente National Park, 2400 m altitude, Canary Archipelago. (Valentin Grigore)
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So beautiful!
I really miss that magical place.
Thanks for the visual teleportation!
(Delia Motoc)
#poetry